Buddyfight- Soul Gem
by EeveeLover42
Summary: Horus Akagi never expected to find a random deck sitting on his desk when he got home. He certainly never expected it -him- to change his life forever, and drag him out into the world that he had abhorred for so long.
1. Chapter 1- Rise, Future Heroes!

The azure haired male stepped into the arena of Aibo Academy. Behind him, a small dragon almost completely covered in flame flew through the same door. At the stage, a white haired boy was reading a yellow book next to a brown haired boy, who jumped up with a grin. "I didn't think you would actually show up! Late as usual…"

"I didn't think you'd leave the house." The azure haired boy shot back with a smile. "Pheobe will be coming up later. She's waiting for Leha to get out of bed. You know how she is…"

"I know. And of course I leave the house, Joseph." The brown haired boy frowned, before turning to the white haired boy on the stage. "This is the buddy I was talking about. I'll let him introduce himself."

The white haired boy looked up from his book, his eyes mercury crescents. "Hello." He said kindly, before spotting the flaming dragon behind Joseph. "Oh! Have we met? You look familiar somehow… what's your name?"

The dragon met his eyes. "Yes, we have met. I'm Lazeb. You can't remember me?"

"The first thing I remember is Severa and Inigo shaking me awake." The boy shrugged. "You'll tell me how I met you. I want to know all that stuff I forgot. Anyway… you're Joseph Rufuji, aren't you? One of my buddy's two best friends. I'm Horus's new buddy, Junior Tactician, Morgan of Legend World." He held out his hand to the azure haired boy.

Joseph took his hand with a grin. "As you know, I'm Joseph Rufuji, and this is my buddy, Flame Dragon, Lazeb. It's always nice to meet someone who can drag our dear Horus out of his home."

"I agree with my brother." A girl with the same amethyst eyes as her brother called down, a mage with a white silk umbrella standing next to her. "Shall I set up the stage for you?"

"Please do so, sister." Joseph replied, and the stage showed the two people's faces. "First ranked fighter, Joseph Rufuji against new fighter, Horus Akagi."

Joseph grinned, pulling out his core deck case in the form of a flaming pendant. "Dragons that circle the world, join me now to fight this war! Luminize! Elemental Dragons!" Lazeb expanded to full size, a fiery, fiendish dragon. Horus gulped, but Morgan held onto his shoulder and nodded.

"I'm with you. You can do it, Horus, I trust you."

Students began to come into the arena to watch. Horus swallowed down his anxiety and unsheathed his core deck case, a dagger with jagged blue and white stripes. "Heroes of a ruined future, unite to open up a new path! Luminize! Future Heroes!"

"Raise the flag!" Lazeb pulled a brownish grey flag into the air, waving it. "Ancient World!"

"Legend World!" He replied, Morgan stuffing a yellow flag in the ground.

"I'll begin! Charge and draw!" Joseph picked up a card and smiled. "I'll show you my favourite. I pay one gauge and buddy call to the right! Flame Dragon, Lazeb." Lazeb flew over to the right, a flaming claw in the air. "When I call him to the right or left, I deal four damage to you! Lazeb, go!"

"Hellfire Scorcher!" Lazeb shouted, slicing him with a claw. "Nothing personal." He added.

 **HA: 6 JR: 11**

"And now, Lazeb attacks you!"

"I'll take it." Horus said, biting down on his lip.

 **HA: 4 JR: 11**

"Go on, Horus." Morgan encouraged. "And hold on. I know you hate people watching you, but… we're with you. Me and Severa and Inigo and everyone. So…" he cracked a smile. "Don't you dare let us down."

He felt a smile brush across his face. "Draw! Charge and draw! I pay one gauge and buddy call Junior Tactician, Morgan to the right!"

"Alright!" Morgan leapt over, spinning green blades of wind in his hand. "Use it!"

"I activate Morgan's effect- Rally Spectrum! Once per turn, I can gain one gauge, one life and draw one card!"

 **HA: 6 JR: 11**

"I'll also call Independent Mercenary, Severa to the left, along with Young Manakete, Nah to the center!"

A red haired girl wielding a white and blue sword appeared, slicing the sword across the air. "Need my help, huh? Well, I guess I have nothing better to do."

A green haired girl with pointed ears appeared in the centre, before she raised up a grey stone into the air and a crystalline glow surrounded her. The glow faded away and a dragon stood in the place of her. She roared in challenge.

"Severa, attack Lazeb!"

"I'll activate the spell card, Loyal Tears and change the target to myself!" Joseph called, bracing himself.

"That would be a good counter, but Severa has the skill, Pass. Her attack cannot be redirected. So carry on!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Severa shouted back, before slicing her sword across Lazeb. "Our destiny is to kill a god! You don't even come close!"

Lazeb vanished in red sparks. Above, a lilac haired girl looked down at the battle. "He certainly plays them just as well as Asano, doesn't he?" She remarked. A deep voice chuckled.

"Perhaps. Lazeb won't go down that easily though." The voice replied. "I didn't expect to see him again. The world works in strange ways."

A blue glow surrounded Severa. "Severa's second effect. Galeforce! When she destroys a monster, she gains Double Attack! Now, go for Joseph! Morgan's second effect, Solidarity! All other units gain 1 critical for each other unit on the field! So Severa now has 3 critical!"

Joseph was blown away as Severa hit him with the blade. Horus took a step forward. "Hey, are you alright?" He called.

 **HA: 6 JR: 8**

"Never better, Horus!" Joseph laughed. "Show me what you've got- I'll destroy you with it!"

"Nah attacks you! 4 critical with Solidarity!"

"I activate Flame Dragon's Resolution to negate your attack and gain one life!" Joseph replied, a shield with Lazeb's face on it appearing in front of him.

 **HA: 6 JR: 9**

"Morgan, it's your turn!"

The white haired tactician nodded, flipping open a yellow book. "Thoron!" He shouted, a bolt of blazing indigo thunder shooting at Joseph, although he shrugged it off.

 **HA: 6 JR: 7**

"My turn! Draw! Charge and draw! You're good if this is your first time playing, Horus." Joseph smiled, but rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But I can't let you win! That would let my sister laugh at me forever. I'll call Ice Dragon, Clagier to the left by paying one gauge! When he is called, he destroys a monster on the field! I choose Morgan!"

"Don't you dare lose, Horus!" Morgan winked, before he was frozen into a statue and shattered.

"Then, I play the spell card- Flame Dragon's Chains! I pay two gauge and one life to destroy a monster on your field, while adding a monster of the same size to my hand! I'll destroy Young Manakete, Nah, and add my buddy to my hand!" Nah was dragged through a portal as he spoke. "Resurrect, flame dragon! I pay one gauge and call to the right! Flame Dragon, Lazeb! And you know Lazeb's effect- take four damage!"

"Spell card- Ylisse's Tears! When I have two or more Hero attribute cards in the drop zone, I can reduce all damage I am going to receive to zero, and add one of the Hero attribute monsters to my hand! I'll choose Innocent Flyer, Cynthia!" He pulled out a card depicting a black haired girl on a pegasus.

"Alright. Then, I'll pay one life and equip Flame Dragon's Avatar!" Joseph called, before loops of orange flame danced around his wrists, forming red, translucent swords. "This item can only be equipped if Lazeb is on the field! And now, I'll attack you!"

The crowd let out a resounding cheer. The loud noises around him were drilling into his head like a warzone, disrupting his concentration each time he began to focus again. This… this was why he hated leaving the house. Too loud… too loud… he should have just asked Joseph to fight with him somewhere else. It had been a bad idea to come here… a terrible idea to fight here…

"Horus is having one of his breakdowns." Pheobe muttered. "I should…"

"You should calm down." The mage next to her replied. "Horus chose to fight here, didn't he? That makes this his responsibility. You just have to trust your friend to get through his problems and keep fighting. He probably can do it. You always speak so highly of him, after all.

"You're cold, Leha." She groaned to her buddy, who smiled and turned away. "Buddyfight… I'm glad that Horus has started playing it. Maybe it will help him interact with and understand others better."

Back on the field, Severa turned back to snap at the brown haired boy. "Oi! Morgan trusts you, so we do too! I don't care what problems you have, but this is Buddyfight! Focus! Don't let us down and fight properly, Akagi!"

"Severa…" he whispered, warmth filling him. The card he had placed in his hand glowed, and the world around him seemed to freeze. "Heroes never give up!" An excited female voice spoke. "Don't you dare give up! You're our hero now, so act like it, Horus!"

"I reduce my life to one to activate the spell card, Final Sacrifice! This ends the battle phase!"

 **HA: 1 JR: 6**

"I end my turn! Horus, are you fine with fighting here? I know you have problems with people…" Joseph trailed off as Horus straightened himself confidently.

"If Morgan was here, he'd tell me to ignore all of them, and stay strong. For the buddy that trusted me…" He looked into Joseph's eyes. "I'll win! This is your Final Turn! Draw! Charge and draw! I call Innocent Flyer, Cynthia to the centre! And if you are going to resurrect your buddy… I will too! I pay one gauge… come back to me, Morgan! Morgan goes to the right!"

The two appeared with goofy looks on their faces, and Morgan gave him a thumbs up. "Rally Spectrum!"

He drew his card and gained gauge. "Come on, Cynthia! I pay two gauge!"

"Rally Speed!" She called, a green glow surrounding the three monsters. "All set, captain!"

"Rally Speed gives all my Size 1 or lower monsters an additional critical! Severa attacks! Solidarity gives her two critical, for a total of four!"

"Spell card, Rampage of Dragons! I destroy the attacking monster!" He responded with a grin. A glow surrounded Severa, and she growled out a sentence before vanishing.

"You better win, Akagi!"

"Severa… I'll discard a card and activate the spell card Risen Ritual! When a Hero monster is destroyed, I can call another Hero from the graveyard! Optimistic Mercenary, Inigo! Attack!"

A grey haired mercenary charged forward, slashing across Joseph. The other boy winced. "Ouch… that's going to leave marks."

"You're my enemy for now, so I'm sorry. You're Joseph Rufuji, aren't you? Would your sister-"

 **HA: 1 JR:4**

"No flirting! Go, Cynthia!"

"I activate-"

Morgan nodded to Horus. "I activate the spell card, Tactician's Determination! I destroy Morgan to nullify your spell!"

Joseph gasped. The lilac haired girl whistled. "Asano… it's funny, I thought he'd be like you. Too soft-hearted to do what's necessary. Anyway…"A dragon roared behind her. She sighed. "Yes, yes, I know he's your mortal enemy, Lucian. Stop fidgeting. We'll get our chance soon."

"You're being rude." A deep voice replied.

"Oh dear." She drawled out. "I didn't realise."

"If I didn't like you, Yone, I'd have abandoned you ages ago." The voice grumbled. "But whatever you say, Yone, whatever you say."

She turned back to the fight as Cynthia's attack landed. Joseph's life points fell to zero as he was thrown backwards.

"Winner: Horus Akagi." The robotic voice announced. Pheobe jumped next to her brother. "You lost, Joseph… you actually lost… you know, that means I'm first ranked now."

"You try fighting him, Pheobe. I bet you'd lose too. Wouldn't last two minutes."

"Would too!"

"Would not."

"Would too!"

"Would-" Horus sighed and moved over, Morgan trailing behind him reading a blue book. Lazeb made to move towards his buddy, but paused as he caught the scent of rich liquor and molten gold in the air, coming from the higher floors. He growled in puzzlement and irritation. "Lucian… it smells like Lucian is here. Does that bastard have a buddy too?" He shook off the feeling and moved towards Joseph. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Lazeb. Thanks." Joseph stood up and smiled at Horus. "Well, that settles it. Pheobe and I are calling dibs on you. You'll be our third team member. Now, team bonding time! Lunch time!" He grabbed Horus's shoulder, dragging the boy towards the entrance. Horus nodded, before a flustered look overtook his face.

"Wait, lunch? As in, in the shopping mall?"

"Yep~"

"Joseph, don't you dare-"

Morgan grabbed Horus's other shoulder and smiled at Joseph. "Let's drag him there."

Joseph replied with a wide grin. "I like you already."

"Morgan, you traitor!"

And they all dragged him out screaming.

 **A/N: And… I can hear the people screaming already. Yes, I know I already don't update Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V Starlight on anything remotely resembling a schedule, and I apologise for that. Hear me out.**

 **One of my friends had an idea for this fic, and seeing as I am what they call a "card game obsessed maniac", she wanted me to help her with writing it. Anyway, I agreed, as you can see. I think I explained this in Starlight already… yep.**

 ** _Chapter 7 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V Starlight:_**

 ** _Have you guys heard of Buddyfight? It's a card game that has been around for a very long time. Anyway, one of my friends wants to write a story about Buddyfight and post it on my account here (because she doesn't want to post on her own). Do you think I should?_**

 **Also, credits to Demon Lord Luciela for encouraging me to write this. My friend wants me to refer to her as Pheobe for now, after the character she made. I'll pass you over to her.**

 **Hey guys! I may be delaying Eevee's new chapter for Starlight. Sorry! Still, I hope you'll like this story, and please don't be mad at Eevee for possibly updating slower (than she already is :)).**

 **I'll admit it, I am a gigantic fan of Fire Emblem Awakening, so I made the characters into cards. Morgan (spoiler) still has amnesia, and that amnesia will play an important role here.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and see you!**

 **~Eevee & Pheobe~**


	2. Chapter 2- New Friends!

"Here you go." Morgan chirped, passing over a plate. "Fish and chips, as you said." Then, a bowl joined it. "Vegetable soup too. Remind me why I'm doing this for you again?"

Horus muttered some words that were muffled. Then, he raised his head. "You helped them drag me here. And since I have never been here… we're stuck until they get back."

Morgan sighed, before looking around with a curious smile on his face. "It's interesting though. I mean, this is what humans call a shopping mall, right? The closest I remember to something like this was the market Severa dragged me to once. For weapons and stuff. But there were no food stands, no preparation of food for us. The human world seems to be very… I mean, people not even bothering to make their own food most of the time?" He looked around. "Oh! There's something selling accessories down there! I think Lucina would like one of those… and Noire… and Nah…"

"Don't get too pumped, Morgan." He groaned. "I don't have the money for all of that."

The white haired boy pouted. "But you had enough to buy food? I'm your buddy! Don't I get an allowance?"

"Maybe." He shrugged noncommittally, before he took a mouthful of the fish- and choked.

"What?" Morgan stared in worry. "Is it terrible? I mean, I squeezed the lemon into it and everything…"

"Can't… take… lemon…" Then, the boy collapsed on the table. Morgan stared at him for about fifteen seconds, before raising him onto his back and running out.

"The Rufujis said that they were going to the toilet. So all I have to do…"

He began running, before bumping into a lilac haired girl. "Sorry!" He called. "Do you know where the toilet is? My buddy looks like he's going to vomit… or something worse."

The girl winced. "Eww… The toilet's that way." She gestured all the way to the other side of the mall. "Try to stop him from puking on anyone."

"Thanks!" Immediately, he ran off towards the toilet. "If you puke on my coat, I will drop you." He threatened Horus as he ran. Orange hair, black hair, blonde hair… blue hair! He ran to the side of… Joseph. "Oi! I fed him lemon and now he's making these weird retching noises!" He called to the boy.

"You fed Horus lemon?" Joseph questioned. At Morgan's nod, he cursed. "He's allergic. We need to get him to the hospital quickly. Lazeb!" Then, he let out an even longer string of curses.

"You sound like Severa on a bad day." Morgan commented idly, trying to lower the tension. "What's wrong?"

"Lazeb got sick on something earlier, so he's going number two right now. Or number three. Come to think of it, I don't know what a number three is, but I know it sounds bad." He looked around. "We need to find a fast way to get to the hospital…"

"Did you say fast?"

They turned to see the lilac haired girl walk over, looking at Horus. "Oh, he looks terrible. Anyway, do you need transport?"

Joseph looked at her in interest. "We do. But… you don't have a flier or anything, and the hospital's on the other side of town-"

"Lucian." She snapped her fingers. Her shadow spread out, forming a dragon's shape with crooked black wings. "Mind helping this guy out?"

"I am not a courier." The newly formed dragon replied. He was a black and gold dragon, with shadows leaking off his wings. His eyes were like bloody roses, and Morgan could smell… he smelt like abandoned mines and puppets. "But if that guy is going to die…" The staff at the girl's side glowed slightly.

"Buddy Skill, on." The girl drew a circle in the air with her staff, an orange vortex appearing where she had drawn it. "A portal straight to the hospital. Go."

* * *

The weekend was over, and Horus had recovered from the 'poisoning' accident.

"Well, at least that's something new. You don't get people who are nearly murdered by their buddies everyday." Joseph had laughed while visiting him in hospital. By Horus's request and with Morgan's embarrassment, the white haired buddy monster had shocked him with a small lightning bolt. Pheobe had brought flowers(which were happily approved by Horus) and a list of each of Horus's allergies(which were not). Morgan had sat in the chair by his bed for the rest of the weekend, eagerly memorising all the allergies and making comments about them- "You're allergic to chocolate? Chocolate?"- and generally, all of this caused Horus to try his best to not exist the entire time.

He sighed as he headed up the escalator. Morgan trailed behind him, still reading the manual.

At the top, a lilac haired girl and a boy with blue hair were standing together and looking around. Morgan looked up at them. "Oh! Horus, that girl was the one who helped us get you to the hospital!" He called, attracting the two's attention. A smile appeared on the girl's face as she hurried over.

"Hey! You're the Buddies from last week, at the mall!" The girl said with a grin. "Do you go to Aibo Academy?"

The boy sighed from behind her. Horus smiled. "Oh, yes. Morgan just told me that he recognised you two. I do go to Aibo, but I haven't seen you there…"

"We just transferred." The boy stated. "Today will be our first day of lessons, and well… we're lost. Do you know how to get to Class… 3E?"

"That's my class! Alright, I'll lead you there."

The girl smiled. "Thanks-"

The school bell rung. Horus paled. "We're late for class! Alright, follow me!" They zoomed up the staircase, getting to the class in about two minutes. Mr Mark stared at them as they appeared at the door. He panted, preparing an answer for the teacher-

"Hello! You're Mr Mark, right? Our teacher?" The lilac haired girl called from behind him. "We're the new students, the Shikawa twins. We got lost, and um… he helped us find our way here."

Mr Mark sighed. "Go to your seat, Horus."

He quickly moved in and crossed all the way to the back, sliding into his seat on the left of Pheobe. Meanwhile, the 'Shikawa twins' came into the classroom. From in front, Lazeb sniffed the air suddenly.

"Class, please welcome Yone and Kani Shikawa to our class!"

 _Another pair of twins, huh? Pheobe and Joseph, and now these two…_

"Hello!" Yone said with a bright smile on her face. "It's nice to meet all of you! I hope I'll make friends with all of you… and buddyfight most of you, at least."

Lazeb turned to Joseph. "Have you met her?"

"Yep. She helped Horus get to the hospital in time." Joseph shrugged. "Her buddy was… Lycan, Rucian, Lucan…"

"Lucian?" Yone's shadow shot out behind her like a wild blaze, before turning solid as two eyes the colour of roses opened. The dragon coiled upwards, like a serpent about to strike. "My buddy. Death Waltz Dragon, Lucian. Um… are we allowed to keep our buddies with us in class?"

The teacher shot him a look. "Well, you aren't _supposed_ to, but since _some people_ bring their buddies with them, you might as well."

Morgan obliviously continued reading the Buddyfight magazine at the back, while Lazeb and Leha had retreated and seemed to be talking rather quickly. Lucian turned into a smaller form of himself, flying to the back and joining the conversation. Mr Mark turned to Kani. "Do you have a buddy?"

A flicker of something strange came over Kani's face, but it vanished the next second as a smile came on his face. "I do, but she's not with me now."

The two of them wandered towards the back, as they took the only two seats available- in front and on the right of Horus. Kani winked at Pheobe, and something akin to suspicion arose in Horus at the action. Then, he raised a box- a core gadget. "Can I fight you later?" He asked.

Pheobe shrugged with a smile. "Can you give me a challenge?"

"Can you stand up to me?" The boy shot back. "My sister wants to fight your brother because of their buddies, so that's why I'm challenging you. Otherwise I wouldn't be bothering."

Yone turned around. "Don't lie, Kani. You-"

"Ahem!" The teacher cleared his throat at the front of the classroom. "We are in class right now…"

Kani scribbled down two words on a scrap of paper and gestured for Horus to pass the paper to Pheobe.

 _After school._

* * *

"Do you think he's flirting with my sister?" Joseph commented as the two prepared to fight.

"Not likely." Yone replied from next to him. "Kani doesn't really care for people as people. He just does things because he is expected to, or because it looks like it might be fun."

Joseph elbowed him. "I wonder who that reminds me of."

Horus ignored him, watching the two take a step forward on the stage. Suddenly, something started forming in the air, water droplets combining and changing colour before a mermaid with a rainbow coloured fishtail appeared. Kani nodded to the girl. "Let's go then."

"Resilient mages across the spectrum, create a paradise of light and beauty! Luminize! Spectrum Mages!" Leha stood next to her, twirling an umbrella in the air.

"Let water flow past us. Let it create, absorb… and control! Luminize! Water Spirits!"

"Buddyfight!" Everyone (which was a lot of people, half of which were there to watch Pheobe fight and the other half to see how good Kani was) chorused.

"Raise the flag! Magic World!" The dark turquoise flag flew above them.

"Katana World."

"May I go first?" Pheobe grinned as Kani gave a shrug. "Alright! Charge and draw! I pay one gauge and activate the set spell "Mage Academy"! Once per turn, I may discard one monster from the deck to gain one gauge! I'll discard Orange Mage, Cixete to gain one gauge! I'll pay one gauge to call Red Mage, Awr to the right!"

A male magician with a ruby tipped staff appeared on the field, with a robe filled with pictures of swords and shields.

"Awr's effect! I can call a monster back from the drop zone by paying one gauge! Orange Mage, Cixete!"

A small girl in an oversized robe appeared, before hurriedly raising her staff. "I'm here!"

"Cixete allows me to select one card from the deck and place it in the gauge. Then, Cixete attacks! When she does, I gain one life!"

"I'll take it." Kani yawned. "My turn."

 **PR: 11 KS: 9**

"Kani is a prodigy." Yone smiled proudly. "It's a pity he never tries his best for anything."

"Red, orange… are you trying to go through the rainbow? Draw. Charge and draw. I call Water Spirit, Aqua, and Water Spirit, Azura to the left and center! Then… come forth, my buddy! I buddy call Water Spirit Princess, Ariel to the right!"

The mermaid sighed, moving over to the position as two other mermaids- in light blue and dark blue dresses respectively- appeared. "Let's end this quickly."

"I'll play the set spell card- Water Spirit Chess! For every monster on my field, I can activate one of its effects each turn! I have three monsters! For the first effect! Choose a monster from your hand and call it!"

Horus nodded. "Pheobe's field size is at 3. She'll have to destroy one of them no matter what she calls- unless it's a size zero, but she doesn't seem to have any."

Pheobe smiled. "I would… I really would… but I don't have any monsters in my hand."

Kani's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Alright then! If the opponent cannot discard, they take one damage!"

 **PR: 10 KS: 9**

A wave swept over the girl as she let out a yelp.

"I pay one gauge to activate Ariel's effect." Then, the blue haired boy grinned. "Or I would, but I'll activate another ability of Water Spirit Chess! You pay the gauge for me!"

"Gladly!" Pheobe replied. "Although… Yellow Mage, Espech's effect! When sent from the gauge to the drop zone, I can call it to the field! I'll call it to the centre and due to the size limit, Awr is destroyed!"

A smirk appeared on Kani's face as a dark aura surrounded Ariel. "Ariel's effect! Surrender your will to the Princess of the Water Spirits! I choose a monster on your field and have it attack you! **Broken Tears!** I'll have Espech attack you."

A red glow filled the yellow robed mage's eyes as he raised his staff. "Sorry…" Then, the lightning bolt hit Pheobe, pushing her back slightly.

 **PR: 9 KS: 9**

"Aqua's effect. If my opponent has taken damage from her own monster's attack, once per turn, I may draw. Azura's effect is the same, except that I gain one gauge." He added the cards to his hand and gauge. "Final Phase!"

"You're not going to attack?" She questioned. Kani smiled.

"No need. Third effect. I pay one gauge for each monster on your field and have them attack you! Go. Cixete! Espech!"

The two attacks washed over her.

 **PR: 7 KS: 9**

"Your strategy is… to kill me with my own strength. Without even bothering to take me on directly." Pheobe muttered. "I'll win anyway! Draw! Charge and draw!" The card that she had placed in the gauge glowed. "Green Mage, File's effect! When he is placed in the gauge, I can call him and place one card from the top of my deck into the gauge!" The green mage appeared as Cixete was destroyed and sent off the field. "File's effect! I choose three monsters from my deck and show them to you. You choose one card to be discarded, one card to be sent to the gauge and one to be added to my hand! Now, choose!" She extended out three cards.

Kani burst out laughing. "You… you are amazingly unfair, Pheobe Rufuji!"

The three cards were copies of the same monster.

"Pick whatever you want." He waved, still laughing. She nodded, sending one to the gauge, her hand and the drop zone.

"Blue Mage, Igult's effect! When placed in the drop zone, once per turn, I may call her back to the field and add a Indigo Mage, Dhenid to the gauge!" Espech vanished as a blue robed mage took his place. "Then, Indigo Mage, Dhenid's effect! When placed in the gauge, I can send a monster on my field to the gauge to call her to the field without paying the call cost!"

File vanished as an indigo robed mage appeared.

"Like illusions." He commented. "Well? Are you going to continue so that I can get my turn soon? Maybe sometime this week?"

Pheobe laughed. "All in good time! Indigo Mage, Dhenid's effect! I pay one life to add two cards from my deck to the gauge! Violet Mage, Versere and White Mage, Leha! When placed in the gauge, Versere calls herself to the field! All the pieces are here! I'll play the set spell card Spectrum of Wishes! I'll send the two monsters on my field to the drop zone. Then, if I have seven or more different cards in the drop zone, I can buddy call Gentle White Mage, Leha to the centre!"

A rainbow appeared, before Leha jumped through and appeared on the field with a superior smirk. "All the cards in the drop zone with "Mage" in their name go to Leha's soul! That's nine- with repeats of File and Igult!"

Multicoloured lights surrounded Leha as she raised her staff. "Leha has Shadow Dive, so I'll have her attack you directly! For every two "Mage" cards in her soul, Leha gains a critical! That's 5 critical, coming at you!"

Kani yawned. "I play the spell card, Water Gates. I pay one gauge and sacrifice Aqua to gain 5 life before the attack hits, which means that I don't take any damage."

"Final Phase!" She raised a card. "Impact Card- Deus Ex Machina, Stage Salute! I pay two life and deal Leha's critical as damage to you!"

 **PR: 5 KS: 4**

Kani shrugged off the damage. "Check." He called. "Draw. Charge and draw! Ariel's effect! I pay one gauge to make your centre monster attack you! **Broken Tears!** "

"I'll pay one gauge to activate the spell card Chillax! I reduce the damage to zero and gain one life!" She smiled, a razor sharp smile. "You're going to have to try harder than that."

"I have two gauge left." He grinned. "Ariel. Another gauge."

The attack blew Pheobe off her feet, sending her flying.

 **PR: 1 KS: 4**

"One more time, Ariel."

"I'll play the spell card-"

"Counter cast." Kani singsonged. "Checkmate. I cast- Demon Way, Sakurafubuki! I'll negate your spell. Finish her off!"

Joseph was silent. If there was one thing the Rufujis shared other than their appearance, it was their hatred of losing and their pride. Joseph… was probably internally coming up with plans to avoid losing in public.

 **PR: 0 KS: 4**

Pheobe shrugged, before taking a few steps forward and holding out a hand. "Nice job."

Kani hesitated, before taking it. "Not bad."

The two shook hands, before the girl left the fighting stage.

Only two people noticed the clenched fists by her side.

* * *

Horus ran out to find Pheobe sitting on the bench, sifting through her deck. "You know, you played well."

"Not well enough." The girl shrugged. "I hate losing. I hate being outsmarted. That fighter did both, so… not that I hate him, but I don't want to lose to him again. Mistakes do help us grow, so I'm looking for a way to counter spell negates in Magic World."

He looked to Morgan, who fingered at a few blank cards in his pocket and passed one to Horus. The moment he touched it, colours faded onto it and a new card appeared. Morgan had appeared with tons of these blank cards in his pockets- and even though there had only seemed to be five the first time they had looked, later it had refilled. Severa and Cynthia had theorised that he should use it wisely, but… if his friend needed it…

He passed the cards over. Pheobe looked at it. "Blank Easel, huh- oh. I didn't realise you… had a card like this. Or that this card existed."

He ignored Morgan whistling conspicuously in the background. "Yeah… Morgan has some copies of really rare cards. Even he's not sure why."

She smiled. "Well, I'll just get better. Should we go home now?"

* * *

The Rufuji adults were overseas, so the three teens had the house to themselves. Horus was sitting in his room when the door opened and Joseph came in.

"There's a third one." Joseph sighed. "There's another Shikawa. He's just not in our class."

Horus sighed. "Why are you telling me this?"

Joseph pulled out a laptop from behind him, showing him a webpage. The pictures of the younger twin Shikawas and a boy with black hair but the same green eyes as them, along with a blonde girl. "Apparently they were quite the prodigy Buddyfighters in the past. They finished in first, second and third, although Kani tied for first with that girl in the photo." He shrugged. "I was thinking you might be interested in the third Shikawa."

"Why?" He rolled over. Then, he saw it.

In the next photo, Morgan was smiling innocently next to the third Shikawa.

 **A/N: Well, this ends the chapter! Thanks for reading!**

 **Next time on Buddyfight-Soul Gem: Horus confronts the oldest Shikawa sibling to try and find out his connection to Morgan. Meanwhile, Joseph challenges Yone to make up for his sister's loss!**

 **~Eevee & Pheobe~**


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